


Long Island Ice Tea

by rumpledspinster



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), ouat
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluffy, long island ice tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 03:53:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8606221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumpledspinster/pseuds/rumpledspinster
Summary: A fluffy little ficlet featuring an adorably drunk Belle :)





	

“This is it. This is the day.” Belle took a deep breath as she turned away from the locked library doors and took her first steps toward Mr. Gold’s Antiquities Shop. Crack, snap, oof! Belle nearly stumbled to her hands and knees as the heel on her shoe broke. Belle sighed sadly. This was a sign; a sign that she shouldn’t go over there and make a fool of herself because there was no way that Mr. Gold would see her attempt as anything other than the affections of a silly girl at best and the delusional thoughts of a lonely woman at worst. Ugh! Belle took off her now ruined shoes and began walking down the street to the nearby bar the Rabbit Hole. There would be pay phones there and she would call her father to pick her up when he could. 

Jefferson, the bartender, looked up from where he was wiping down the dark wood counter and took in her appearance as she entered, “Yikes! Looks like someone is having a bad day.”

Belle nodded sadly. Jefferson smiled, “have a seat beauty and I will make you one of my signature drinks.” Belle smiled and shook her head no, “I don’t like alcohol. It has a chemical taste and burns my nose.”

Jefferson gave a sly smile, “that’s because you haven’t found the drink for you; the slipper that fits; the well to whet your whistle.” He made a flourishing motion with his hand and then pointed to the stool in front of him. “Come now, it’s on the house and there is no need to feel you have to drink it if you dislike it.”

Belle shyly brushed the hair from her face behind her ears and took a seat. Jefferson clapped his hands in front of him, “what is your favorite drink in the world? What makes you happy when you are sad?”

Belle didn’t even hesitate when she answered, “ice tea.”

Jefferson nodded, a broad grin on his face. He rushed around for a moment and produced what looked like ice tea in a tall glass with a thin straw. Belle took a tentative sip and smiled. It was delicious.

Before she knew it she had finished the glass and a second one that Jefferson had been kind enough to offer. Belle felt amazing. She was warm all over and felt as if she could do anything. She could fly if she wanted. But flying wasn’t what she wanted, what she wanted was Mr. Gold. She thanked Jefferson for his kindness and told him she was off to get her prince. Jefferson smiled knowingly, “he’s still there. I’m sure of it.”

Belle marched to the door barefoot, having thrown her shoes away, and began to walk toward Mr. Gold’s shop. But just as she approached the dimly lit window, a large arm wrapped around her and pinned her arms to her body. She looked toward the source of the rough treatment and saw the face of a very drunk Gareth Gaston. He reeked of whiskey as he announced “your prince has found you.”

Belle let out a blood curdling scream before Gaston was able to place one of his large hands over her mouth and nose, cutting off her air entirely. As Belle continued to struggle she saw Mr. Gold come rushing out of the shop and stop as he took in the sight before him. Belle’s eyes smiled at him as she felt herself begin to lose consciousness. 

Mr. Gold roared, “LET HER GO!” Gaston complied, letting Belle crumple to the cement, and made to walk away. Mr. Gold rushed to Belle’s side, but was surprised to feel an arm grab him roughly around the middle. Mr. Gold thought quickly as he brought the tip of his cane down hard on the brutish Gaston’s foot and then served him an upper cut to the jaw with his elbow. Gaston went tumbling back and scurried out of sight. 

Mr. Gold’s attention was on Belle once more as he ran his hand over the side of her face. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “My hero!” she sighed.

Gold blushed at her words before asking, “Are you alright Miss French?”

Belle was rubbing her cheek against his ear as she muttered “Call me Belle.”

“Belle?”  
Belle mewed happily in response to her name. “I love to hear you say my name. Can I know your name?”

Gold was confused, but he held her back none the less as he answered, “Adam.”

Belle gave a breathy sigh, “Adam! That’s my favorite name.” and Gold had to admit he had never heard it sound better than coming from Belle’s lips.

Adam couldn’t help but feel happy in that moment as his dream girl was warm in his arms and whispering his name in his ear, but he worried for her. “Sweetheart, how did this happen?”

Belle mewed again as she cuddled up closer to him, “Mmmm, I love it when you call me sweetheart. Oh Adam!”

Adam held Belle close but now he was most definitely worried that she had been drugged or in the least hit on the head really hard. “Come on. Let’s get you to hospital.” 

***  
“Are you sure she isn’t concussed? Or drugged?” Adam was convinced that Dr. Whale had made a mistake.

“She is not concussed, nor is she drugged. She is drunk.”

Belle giggled quietly as Adam tried to keep her from crawling up him like a koala on a tree.

Adam shook his head, “How drunk are we talking?”   
Dr. Whale shrugged, “Just drunk. Lower inhibitions, compromised decision making. She should stay hydrated; sweetened lemonade is good for that as well as helping to keep the impending headache at bay.”

Adam sighed, “Come on Belle, let’s get you home.”

Belle pouted and huffed, “Dr. Whale!” Belle giggled, “Like the fish.” She then shook off her silly thought to get to the important one she originally wanted to say, “Tell Adam he has to stay with me because I could get hurt or fall over or something.”

A look of confusion crossed Whale’s face, “Who’s Adam?”

Belle rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious, “My boyfriend silly!” Belle smiled dreamily up at Adam while Whale suppressed a giggle. “So you two are on a first name basis?” he asked Mr. Gold, but Belle noticed the sly grin on Whale’s face and she didn’t like it. “What? Do you think I’m not good enough for him?”

Whale could see that Belle was beginning to get agitated so he put his hands up in a sign of surrender as he replied, “Miss French I didn’t mean to insinuate anything.”

But Belle wouldn’t be calmed. The niggling doubt that had stopped her from going to Gold’s shop the first time had returned with a vengeance and wouldn’t leave the forefront of her mind. Her face turned red and her voice wavered as she replied, “You do don’t you. You think I’m a stupid love-struck girl. Well I’m not, okay.” Her voice became no more than a whisper as she repeated, “I’m not.”

Whale backed toward the door as Belle was speaking. He looked to Adam, “Perhaps you should stay with her.” And left the exam room. 

Adam watched as Whale left, but his attention was drawn back to Belle whose back was to him, as he heard her sniffle and then saw her bring up her hands to rub her eyes. 

“Sweetheart?” Adam asked quietly, but Belle responded by curling in on herself and whimpering.

“Hey, now. Why are you crying?” He placed his hands gently on the sides of her arms and turned her to face him. 

Belle looked up at him with watery eyes. Her mascara was smudged and running down her face. He had never seen her look so upset and it surprised him just how much the sight of her upset hurt him.   
Belle sniffled and whispered, “Because I’m a stupid girl.” She then buried her face into his chest and began to thoroughly wet his shirt with her tears.   
Without thinking, Adam held Belle close as every fiber of his being screamed for him to protect her from the world. “You aren’t a stupid girl. You are a beautifully bright woman.” He rubbed his cheek against her hair, “Why would you think such a thing?”

Belle’s words were difficult to hear as she sniffled and hiccupped, but Adam was able to understand enough to learn that his sweet little Belle had been wanting him as her boyfriend for quite some time and had finally worked up the courage (liquid courage to be exact) to march over to him and declare her love only for Dr. Whale to make her realize that she was no more than a silly girl compared to wonderful grown up Adam. 

Adam suppressed a giggle as he turned Belle slightly in his embrace so that he could cradle her and look into her eyes, “Oh sweetheart, you aren’t silly and as for me being a grown up…well, let’s just say that there has been many a night that I sat with a bottle of scotch and thought about you. Your lovely smile, your beautiful voice, the warmth of your presence, and wished upon all the stars that you were mine. But alas I was much too cowardly to have the courage to profess my love for you, even with alcoholic help.”

Belle sniffled. Her voice was hesitant as she asked, “So… you like me?”   
Adam chuckled, “Sweetheart, I love you.”  
Belle smiled happily up at him before letting out a yawn. Adam pressed a kiss to her head, “I’ll take you home with me. You can get some rest and we’ll talk more in the morning.”

Adam drove Belle to his home and helped her to walk inside. She swayed back and forth as she walked and seemed too tired to get very far, so he laid her down on the sofa. He covered her with a soft blanket and brought her a cup of warm sugary water with lemon. She had just enough energy to drink it down before she fell asleep.   
Adam took a seat in a plush arm chair nearby and simply watched Belle sleep for awhile. She had the sweetest smile on her face and every now and again she would giggle softly in her sleep. He sighed contentedly at the sight of her. Fearing that come the morning she would deny the night happened and retreat to her tower, Adam decided he would enjoy the sight of her and her mere presence for as long as he could. He toed off his shoes and shed his coat and tie before settling into the chair for the night. 

The first slivers of light began to make there way through the colored glass of the front door and the spaces where the curtains didn’t quite touch. The light crawled lazily through the room, reaching Belle and illuminating her face. Belle moaned at the intrusion of the light. She wasn’t much of a morning person to begin with, but she usually just sighed and hoisted herself out of bed anyway, but she was most definitely not doing that today. Belle moaned and pulled the blanket over her head in an attempt to keep the light at bay. As she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for sleep, she couldn’t help but notice the sound of foot falls and the movement of a curtain. She felt a warm weight sit down next to her, and she smelled Mr. Gold’s delectable cologne. She pulled the blanket down slowly to peek at her surroundings only to see Mr. Gold’s warm brown eyes starring down at her.   
Belle simply stared at his angelic face for a moment before her memories of the night came flooding back and her face fell in fear and embarrassment. “Oh no. No, no, no.” Belle’s lips began to tremble and she pulled the blanket back over her head. Adam frowned, “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Is it the headache again? Do you need water or tea?”  
Belle moaned at the mention of tea, so Adam tentatively tugged on the blanket in the hopes that Belle would look at him. She slowly released her grasp on it, letting him uncover her face.   
He looked down on her with kind eyes full of concern. Belle’s lip wibbled as she tried to speak, and tears started to form in her eyes. Adam pulled her into his arms, “Hey now. None of that. It’s alright sweetheart. Shhh.” Adam held her close and rubbed her back and listened as her breathing began to calm.   
Adam’s voice was sad as he shrugged, “I suppose you’ll be wanting to go home now. I assure you that if you want me to pretend the night never happened I will oblige, but I was hoping to spend a beautifully romantic day with you, but if you don’t want to… or you don’t feel up to it…”  
Belle’s eyes grew at his words, “You…you want to spend time with me?”  
Adam looked incredulous at her words and his heart fluttered with hope, “I want to spend the rest of eternity with you.”  
Belle sniffled, “So… you don’t think I’m a silly girl?”  
Adam leaned in and rubbed his nose against hers, eliciting a shy smile from her. “I think you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen and have the most amazing sense of humor.”  
Belle rubbed the tears from her cheeks, “So does this mean we’re dating?”  
Adam smirked, “I should hope so.”  
Belle smiled broadly, “Good. I would have hated to do the walk of shame from your home all the way to mine.”  
Adam laughed, “Oh dearest! I would never let you do the walk of shame. I would have driven you.”


End file.
